FAQ | Measures | Future | NC Hospitals

About the Quality Process Measures

Quality of hospital care can take on many meanings. It may mean that there was a successful outcome (e.g., a patient survived a heart attack or was cured of pneumonia) or it may mean that a patient was satisfied with their stay in the hospital and that they thought they were treated well. Process measures are another way to measure quality of care. A process measure determines if a patient was given a needed medicine, treatment, or diagnostic test at the right time. Through extensive research, national guidelines have been established for the recommended care of patients with various medical conditions. Common medical conditions that have been broadly studied are heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. It is very common for adults to be in the hospital to receive treatment for one of these reasons. Getting the recommended care means you are more likely to have better outcomes.

To collect the data for the process measures in this report, hospital staff checks the medical records of patients who were hospitalized for these conditions to see how often they got the recommended treatments when eligible to receive that treatment. Then, based on those records, it is possible to calculate the “hospital performance rate” - the percentage of times that patients got the recommended treatments. This information can help you compare how often hospitals provide the type of care most patients should always get for these conditions as a part of their overall care.

The quality process measures in this report are:

Heart Attack Measures

Percent of Patients Given ACE Inhibitor or ARB for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD)
Percent of Patients Given Aspirin at Arrival
Percent of Patients Prescribed Aspirin at Discharge
Percent of Patients Prescribed Beta Blocker at Discharge
Percent of Patients Given Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) Within 90 Minutes Of Arrival
Percent of Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling
Percent of Patients Given Fibrinolytic Therapy Within 30 Minutes Of Arrival

Heart Failure Measures

Percent of Patients Given ACE Inhibitor or ARB for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD)
Percent of Patients Given Evaluation of Left Ventricular Systolic (LVS) Function
Percent of Patients Given Discharge Instructions
Percent of Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling

Pneumonia Measures

Percent of Patients Assessed and Given Pneumococcal Vaccination
Percent of Patients Given Initial Antibiotic(s) within 6 Hours After Arrival
Percent of Pneumonia Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling
Percent of Patients Given the Most Appropriate Initial Antibiotic(s)
Percent of Patients Having a Blood Culture Performed Prior to First Antibiotic Received in Hospital
Percent of Pneumonia Patients Assessed and Given Influenza Vaccination

Surgical Care Measures

Percent of surgery patients on beta blocker therapy prior to arrival who received a beta blocker during the perioperative period
Percent of cardiac surgery patients with controlled 6 A.M. postoperative blood glucose
Percent of Surgery Patients Who Received Preventative Antibiotic(s) One Hour Before Incision
Percent of Surgery Patients Who Received the Appropriate Antibiotic(s) for Their Surgery
Percent of Surgery Patients Whose Preventative Antibiotic(s) are Stopped Within 24 hours After Surgery
Percent of surgery patients needing hair removed from the surgical area before surgery, who had hair removed using a safer method (electronic clippers or hair removal cream - not a razor).
Percent of surgery patients whose doctors ordered treatments to prevent blood clots (venous thromboembolism) for certain types of surgeries.
Percent of surgery patients who received treatment to prevent blood clots within 24 hours before or after selected surgeries to prevent blood clots.

For more information on these measures, you can reference http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov and on the right hand side under LEARN MORE click on "Learn More About Hospital Process of Care Measures."